The U.S. Olympic Committee pared its list of possible hosts for the 2024 Olympics on Tuesday, and expects to use the next seven months to decide whether to bid.

After the board's quarterly meeting, chairman Larry Probst said the USOC would take this week to contact cities that had expressed interest in a possible bid. He declined to say which cities were still in the running.

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and Washington were among those that had been receiving serious consideration. Probst said earlier the USOC wanted to trim to two or three cities but wouldn't get specific about the number Tuesday.

The last U.S. city that bid for the Olympics was Chicago, which finished last in the voting for the 2016 Games.

Since then, the USOC has been on a mission to rebuild its international reputation. Among factors that point toward a successful bid are the USOC's recent restructuring of a contentious revenue-sharing deal with the IOC and the IOC's recent $7.75 billion extension of its TV deal with its favorite American partner, NBC.

Still, the IOC holds all the cards in the bidding process and can capitalize on a U.S. candidacy in a number of ways, including as a tool to generate more interest in the bidding process.

Probst said before the USOC commits to a bid, members want to see what changes the International Olympic Committee makes to the hosting requirements. New IOC President Thomas Bach has asked the board to work on an Olympic roadmap through 2020.

- Associated Press